We are at the looting stage of the American Empire’s collapse and it’s no surprise leftists are much better at it than Republicans.

Likely because they’ve had more practice.

The return of the congressional "earmark" is a perfect example of the practice along with its big and detrimental impact on our nation’s finances.

Earmarks are little checks politicians cash on the national treasury to benefit themselves politically, toss taxpayer dollars to donors, or make their transition into private life (that dreaded day!) just a little smoother.

It works like this. Politicians view appropriation bills as giant Christmas trees.

Everyone loves Christmas!

So what does it matter if they personally add a little spending into the bill in the form of an earmark? Multimillion dollar earmarks have a tendency to get lost in the immensity of a trillion-dollar appropriation.

That helps a politician avoid potentially embarrassing publicity over his generosity with your money or, in our current situation, your future debt service.

The important result is the people who get the check remember exactly where the money came from and are suitably grateful.

Republicans did away with earmarks, over the teeth-gnashing of curator of the Senate Mitch McConnell, when they controlled both houses of Congress.

When the left took over in 2021, earmarks were welcomed back like a long, lost (rich) uncle, while Republicans pretended to be outraged.

Today the top "earmarker" in the Senate is your typical comb-over conservative, just–retired Richard C. Shelby with $650 million in goodbye kisses.

He is followed by stalwart "conservatives" in the numbers two and three spots.

A Brookings study listed Republicans in seven of the top 10 spending spots.

How does this happen, other than as a result of constant lying to voters?

Easy.

As OpenTheBooks.com founder Adam Andrzejewski told The Washington Times, "Restoring earmarks in today’s Congress was like opening a bar tab for a bunch of alcoholics" and Republicans are just as addicted to spending the money.

How they spend the money only goes to show we are backing losers who like losing.

Take former Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

According to the Times, "Roy Blunt departed the Senate in style last year, helping direct $61 million in taxpayers’ money to a University of Missouri building that the school had named for him.

"For good measure, he earmarked another $30 million to a Missouri State University building that also bore the Republican lawmaker’s name."

That will help him land a practically no-show teaching gig after he retires.

Who cares if it dumps millions into a Woke institution with a $2.2 billion endowment that will be happy to scrub Blunt’s name off the building as his coffin is lowered into the ground?

An institution that Blunt will have no impact upon after the check is cashed?

The left is much more strategic and not focused on personal ego-stroking.

As Brookings found, "Republicans tended to stick with more traditional projects — public works such as roads and bridges available to everyone.

"Democrats went for what the analysts called "want-based" projects, catering in particular to identity-politics constituencies."

This means GOP money goes to projects that should be funded by the state budget or the Department of Transportation budget.

Leftist money goes to creating a patronage network that hires more leftists, produces more leftist voters, helps leftists win elections, creates future demand for more federal money and uses the comb-over conservatives’ road and bridge spending to get those leftist employees to Antifa and Black Lives Matter riots that much faster.

Here is a brief listing of leftist earmarks: National Great Blacks in Wax, a Baltimore wax museum honoring famous Blacks. The Korean American National Museum in Los Angeles. The American LGBTQ+ Museum in New York City. Chicago’s Puerto Rican Cultural Center. And in Maine, the Irish Heritage Center.

GOP money goes to construction firms who are loyal to whomever has the next check.

Leftist money goes to creating jobs for more leftists, who in turn use the money to turn the culture in a direction that supports the creation of even more leftists.

That’s why conservative looters lose.

They don’t understand rewarding your friends and punishing your enemies.

Is it fair to criticize so-called fiscally conservative Republicans when Democrats are doing the same? Maybe, if they stopped lying about what penny-pinchers they are, we might.

Or should we just accept that looting is contagious and when you consider the Treasury is just like Target, without the broken windows, it all begins to make sense.

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.

Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.